1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming system, particularly to an image forming apparatus and an image forming system for being able to utilize an application in which a Web browser is used.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known an image forming system including an image forming apparatus (such as an MFP (Multi-Function Peripheral) including a scanner function, a facsimile function, a printer function, a data communication function, and a server function, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, and a printer, and the like) and a Web server that provides a Web application. In the image forming system, the Web application provided by the Web server can be utilized using the image forming apparatus by accessing the Web server from the image forming apparatus.
During the use of the Web application, the image forming apparatus acquires data utilized when using the Web application (for example, document data or image data of a Web page) from the Web server similarly to a usual browse of the Web page. Based on the acquired data, the image forming apparatus displays the Web page relating to the Web application to enable the Web application to be utilized.
The Web application is displayed as the Web page. A UI (User Interface) of the Web application can freely be set by a vender of the Web application. The vender can easily set the UI, which a user can easily utilize, in each Web application. Therefore, the user can easily utilize the Web application.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-192878 discloses a technology in which, after an initial screen is displayed by a Web browser function in the image forming apparatus, and access is restricted by invalidating a link to another Web page.
Japanese Domestic Re-publication of PCT International Publication for Patent Application No. 98/024027 discloses a Web cache storage device, in which cache and a Web cache management table are contained in a DVD-RAM and browsing work can smoothly be continued with a browser device by inserting the DVD-RAM in the browser device.
In the case that the UI of the Web application differs from a UI of an application (built-in application) that can originally be used in the image forming apparatus or a UI of another Web application, uniformity of the UI is lost in a whole extent of the image forming apparatus. In the state in which the uniformity of the UI is lost in the whole extent of the image forming apparatus, there is a high possibility that the user is confused. For example, Web applications or built-in applications differ from each other in a button image corresponding to the same function. In this case, the user needs to pay attention to the UI in order to unmistakably perform a manipulation, which degrades convenience of the image forming system.
When the applications retain an image common to each other, the uniformity of the UI can be enhanced in the whole extent of the image forming apparatus. However, in this case, it is necessary to capture an image in each application, which results in a problem in that a load on a network constituting the image forming system is increased.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-192878 and Japanese Domestic Re-publication of PCT International Publication for Patent Application No. 98/024027 disclose no effective countermeasure against the problem relating to the UI of the image forming apparatus.